CUAbroad Staff

Grace Schneider became the Director of Education Abroad in February of 2014. She provides university-wide leadership in education abroad and manages the Education Abroad section (CUAbroad) of the Center for Global Education at the Catholic University of America. She also assists and advises students in their preparations for education abroad. Originally from Massachusetts, Grace chose to study abroad in Nantes, France during her junior year of college. Upon returning to the United States, she knew she wanted to share her experiences with others. Thus, after earning her Bachelors of Arts in French and Masters of Science in Education at the University of Rochester, she started work with CET Academic Programs, an education abroad company in Washington, DC. She has also worked at the Fund for Education Abroad, providing education abroad scholarships for underrepresented students. Grace enjoys reading, traveling, fencing and learning new languages. In addition to France, she has also spent time in India, England and Italy. She can speak French and some Spanish.

Robert Dowden came to The Catholic University of America to serve as an education abroad advisor in the Center for Global Education in July, 2014. He provides program management and acts as the primary advisor to students in matters regarding education abroad. Robert is originally from Connecticut, having also lived in North Carolina and Ohio. He participated in a spring break study abroad program in France and a summer abroad in Costa Rica while attending Gardner-Webb University as an undergraduate majoring in English Composition. Robert also lived and worked in Bogotá, Colombia as an ESL teacher before eventually pursuing a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration at Kent State University. Being new to DC, Robert is interested in finding different hobbies to become involved in and welcomes suggestions.